Hawks Investigating Money-Laundering By Top SARS Man

The Hawks have confirmed that an investigation into the second-in-command SARS executive and alleged money-launderer Jonas Makwakwa is ongoing. He was this week returned to a crucial job at the under-performing revenue authority after a year’s suspension.

SARS spokesman Sandile Memela said the executive would not be suspended again following the Hawks confirmation that an investigation is still in progress.

SARS will not suspend Jonas Makwakwa pending this investigation. SARS is not aware of any misconduct pertaining to his job at SARS he may have committed said Sandile Memela, SARS spokesperson.

Makwakwa was red-flagged by the money-laundering authorities for suspicious deposits worth millions of rands into his personal accounts made over six years.

Between him and his wife, Kelly-Ann Elskie, who also works at SARS, the two made deposits worth about R1.6-million into their accounts.

Both are on fixed salaries and SARS various integrity and ethical codes of conduct do not allow staff to undertake other work.

“SARS will not suspend Jonas Makwakwa pending this investigation. SARS is not aware of any misconduct pertaining to his job at SARS he may have committed,” Memela says.

GALLO IMAGESFinance Minister Malusi Gigaba is flanked on his right by treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane and on his left by his deputy Sfiso Buthelezi and SARS commissioner Tom Moyane during Gigaba’s Medium-term budget speech in Parliament.

Makwakwa is a key character in Jacques Pauw’s book “The President’s Keepers”. On Friday, SARS announced that it was considering suing Pauw and the publisher’s for contravening secretive tax laws which prohibit revealing information even in the public interest. Pauw traces Makwakwa’s alleged money-laundering in detail and he also reveals that the executive may have played a role in making the estimated tax liability of R1-billion of Jen-Chih “Robert” Huang, a well-known Taiwanese crony of President Jacob Zuma and his nephew Khulubuse, go away.